The Hunter and the Hunted
by dreamaway
Summary: Jeez I'm obsessed with the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse! Sowwy...kinda...anyway...chapter 5!! woohoo! I'm moving my buns with this one, hey! R&R! Remember the wand!!!
1. Finding the Prey

Ginny stared across the common room, at her brother and his friends. They looked so...happy. Harry especially. What a relief it must be for him not to worry about going back to the Dursleys. She watched them laugh as Harry pinned ROn on the couch and Hermione force-fed him Fred and George's trick food. Sighing, she got up and left for the dormitory. Glancing over her shoulder, she noted that they didn't even see her leave.  
  
  
Draco stormed into the Great Hall the next morning. He and Pansy had fought again that night. Over the stupid damn Potions answers. He couldn't help not wanting to let her cheat. Well, technically he could, but he didn't want to. She could either pay attention in Potions or give Snape sexual favours, like that damn Zabini girl. He slammed down at the table, casting a venomous look at a passing first-year. As Dumbledore got up to speak, he let his eyes and mind wander. Scanning the other three tables, he realised he was, for the first time in his life, truly bored. Usually there was someone, some girl, or a Mudblood who needed teasing. He needed a challenge, he needed...fresh meat...  
  
As Dumbledore babbled on, Ginny looked around the halls. The vacant, desperately hungry look Ron bore was shared by the majority of the students. Looking at the Slytherin table, she recoiled in mild shock as her eyes met Draco's. His expression was unreadable, until he suddenly smile widely. At that moment Dumbledore clapped his hands, snapping them both out of their stupor. She shook her head and concentrated on her food.  
  
  
Draco caught Ginny's arm as she was leaving the hall.   
"Ginny." he whispered. Ginny blinked, wondering why she like hearing the way he said her name. "Ginny, meet me at the Quidditch pitch at 6." And he was gone. She looked frantically throught the hordes, but he had disappeared.  
  
Draco grinned maniacally to himself as he made his way to Charms. Finally, a chance to play.  



	2. On the Prowl

AN: Maria!!! my only reviewer and you think he's gonna rape her?! I'm shocked you could say such a thing about my beloved Draco! ;) just kidding. Actually...that's not a bad idea...**slaps herself** bad Angel...  
  
Ginny walked down to the Quidditch pitch at 5:55, Cleansweep slung over her shoulders. She glanced up, and saw one person in the air. She mounted her broomstick and kicked off, angling up sharply to join them. She saw once she was up in the air that the person was Draco, and she watched in fascination as he threaded in and out of the goal hoops, speeding faster than seemed possible on a broomstick. She had heard about how he bought his way onto the Slytherin team, and personally decided he had enough talent and shouldn't have wasted the money.   
"Draco!" she called to him. He pulled up in mid-air, grinned, and flew over to her.  
"Hey Ginny. Um...listen...I've been meaning to ask you, but you're always around Potter or Granger or someone...anyway, I wanted to know if you'd come to the Yule Ball with me."  
Ginny stared, incredulous. (AN: big words!!!) "You want me - relation of 'The Weasel' - to come to the Yule Ball with you - Evil-in-training namesake of a dragon. Tell me, have you ever considered quitting your drugs?"  
Draco scowled. "Nobody can ever tell me I'm evil, because I do not want to end up like my father, and there is nothing wrong with my name! And for gods' sakes I'm not on drugs. All it was, was a simle request for you to be my date. All I wanted was a simple yes or no." To Ginny's surprise, he looked quite hurt.  
"I'm sorry." she said "It's just...I'm not used to people like you asking me out. No, I mean people other than Neville." she added hastily, seeing his scowl. "I've never been very popular with the boys...as you may have noticed." Draco smiled knowingly.  
"Yes, well you're certainly a change from Pansy. I'm so sick of her." he glanced at her to see if she was still listening, and, satisfied, continued. "I mean, everyone, my whole family, the whole school even, expects me to turn out just like my father. A Death Eater." Once again he surprised Ginny and spat. "I'm not like that. Not that anyone seems to care." He glanced up at her. Sure enough, her face looked compassionate instead of skeptical. He smiled mentally. "So how about it? Will you be my date for the Yule Ball?"  
Ginny smiled. "Yes, Draco. I will."  
  
AN: ooooh!... :D R&R or i swear you'll die...i have a wand and i'm not afraid to use it!! 


	3. Lay the Bait

"Tell me!"   
"No. Hey, don't pull my hair!"   
"Tell me!"   
"Hermione, no! Ouch! No torture, or I'll tell Dumbledore!" Ginny joked as Hermione twisted her hair into a high ponytail.   
"Tellmetellmetellmetellme!"   
"If you don't shut up I am going to Avada you, Azkaban or no Azkaban!" Hermione rolled her eyes.   
"It's not that serious. Anyway, you know I'm going with Ron."   
"He's my brother, that I have a right to know!"   
"PLEASE tell me who you are going with!"   
"No."   
  
  
Ginny swept down the stairs to the common room, her copper-coloured dress robes billowing out behind her.   
"Well? Which on is he?" demanded Hermione.   
"Hm? No, he's not a Gryffindor."   
"Dating the enemy Gin? I never would have thought it of you." Ginny turned to see Harry with his arm around Lavender.   
"Well well Mr Potter. You do shine up like a new penny"   
"Ginny, you have to stop reading those Muggle novels."   
  
The portrait swung open, and Draco straightened up. Ginny emerged first, and the sight of her almost took his breath away. The copper robes she wore highlighted her incredible hair and eyes, and...hang on! He wasn't supposed to like her! This is a game, Draco, he said to himself. It's a game, and you're going to play properly.   
"Hello Draco." She grinned, and he took her by the arm.   
"Malfoy? MALFOY? Ginny, are you completely insane?"   
"Ron, shut up before you lose your manhood via my knee."


	4. Seeing Double

The Hunter and the Hunted  
  
**Double Jepoardy**  
  
  
Malfoy watched as Ginny twirled and laughed in the arms of her brother Fred. It was so...funny...he thought, that the very people he was annoying could do nothing, because of their sister's involvement.  
"Having fun Draco?" laughed Ginny as she flopped into a seat beside him.  
"It's not as much fun when I'm not dancing with you." he replied quietly. He leaned over and tilted her chin up, and kissed her soflty on the lips. She closed her eyes, and a glance sideways showed Draco that Ron and Harry were burning with anger. He wrapped his arms gently around her, and held her close.  
"Draco..." she murmured "...let's go outside."  
"Ok."  
  
  
Ginny held Draco's hand as they walked slowly between the rose bushes.   
"What's it like, Draco?" asked Ginny suddenly. He stared at her. "What's it like to be a Malfoy. I know you're rich, and famous - and respected, though through fear - but I want to know...do you like it?"  
Draco stared up at the sky for a moment.  
"No. I have to honestly say, I would swap it in a moment for a life of quiet insignificance. You cannot...you have no idea what my father expects of me." Draco's voice was little more than a whisper, and far from lieing to her, he found himself pouring out his heart. This wasn't how it was supposed to be!  
"I never knew you before, did I?" murmured Ginny as she slipped her arms around him. "I just took my brothers' word for it that you were a terrible person." Her lips brushed his, and he felt inside a stirring like no other.   
  
No, Draco, NO! he scolded himself  
  
She pressed her lips to his, and try as he might he could not pull away. She was totally, utterly enchanting, and he found himself kissing back.  
  
  
  
  
The next morning dawned bright, but cold. Winter was becoming colder, and it would begin to snow soon. Hermione shivered as she slipped into Ginny's room.  
"Gin, are you sure it's ok?"  
"Hermi, just do it!"  
"Ok then..."  
Hermione slipped a lock of Ginny's hair between the scissors' blades and cut it off.  
"Hurry! He'll be coming out soon!"  
Hermione slipped back down the hall, and popped Ginny's hair into a vial of potion, and her own into another. She raced back down the hall, careful not to spill a drop, and handed the second vial to Ginny.  
"Quick!"  
Together they slugged back the potions, and the symptoms began. Hermione felt her hair curl, and saw it become redder. She watched in amazement as Ginny turned into Hermione.  
"Go! Now!" cried Ginny/Hermione quietly.  
  
Hermione/Ginny raced down the stairs to the common room. She almost knocked Ron over when she reached the fireplace.  
"Ron!" she gasped.  
  
Be like Ginny be like Ginny be like Ginny...  
  
"Ginny? are you ok?" Ron seemed concerned.  
"Um... yes. Sorry. I wanted to catch you before you left for Quidditch. I know how Harry's been at you guys since Wood left."  
"Yeah, so, what did you want?"  
"Uh...listen...I heard Hermione talking, and uh, she wanted to know why you asked her to the ball."  
  
Good, Hermione, keep it up, you're doing fine...oh god...  
  
"Why?" Ron laughed. "I thought it was obvious. With you going out with Malfoy, I don't want her getting in on it."  
"So...you don't like her?"  
"Well...she's my friend, but she'd never be more than that. Good to bail me out in places like that." Ron grinned, but it faded as his sister backed away from him. "Ginny! Where are you going? Ginny!"  
  
  
Hermione turned and fled. A friend. Nothing more. So all those little glances were friendly. He didn't like her.  
"Of course he didn't. Whose' going to like you, with your god damn hair and buck teeth." she muttered tearfully to herself. She flung the portrait open, and as she leapt out ran head first into Draco.  
"Jeez, I can't stop running into people today!" she burst out.  
"Hey, Gin, what's the matter? You've been crying!"  
"It's nothing...Ron...he's..."  
"Your damn brother! He cannot leave well enough alone, can he! Come here." He wrapped his arms protectively around her.  
  
Hermione was shocked to feel Draco's touch. How could someone so vile be so gentle? Her breathing slowed, and she melted into him.  
"Draco..."   
  
AN: oO ooh...what's going down here? Tell me what ya think! 


	5. Death vs War

AN: The little bit of song in this is the Beach Boys', not mine.  
  
  
"Draco..." Hermione murmured.  
"Shh. It's ok." He whispered, and to her surprise he began to sing.  
"Don't worry baby,  
Don't worry baby.  
Everything will turn out alright..."  
"That's a Muggle song!" she cried in surprise.  
"Well bugger me, I didn't think you had anythign against Muggles!" he replied cheekily.  
Hermione smiled. "Listen, I have to go. I - I'll see you later, ok?"  
"Ok. See you."  
  
  
  
Hermione ran into her dormitory and leant on the wall breathing fast. So Draco did love Ginny! She would have thought it impossible, but apparently not.  
"Hermi!" Hermione nearly had a heart attack when she heard Ginny's furtive whisper.  
"Are you trying to give me a heart attack! Bloody hell girl!"  
"Never mind that! What did he say?" asked Ginny excitedly.   
Hermione grimaced. "You don't want to know. Trust me." she paused a moment, then spoke again. "Hey Gin, do you, well, do you actually like Draco?"  
Ginny smiled "Everyone thinks it's impossible because he's a Slytherin, but he's really sweet. You can't even imagine."  
Maybe I can, thought Hermione.  
"I wish I did know. I mean, I just found out Ron is anything but in love with me. Now I'm not even sure I wanted it."  
"You're damn right you don't!" exclaimed Ginny  
"Why?"  
"Do you know how bad he snores?" The two girls collapsed into laughter.  
  
  
  
Ginny ran down the stairs of the school, down down into the dungeons.   
"Grimoire" she whispered, and the door to Draco's chambers opened. She fell into the room, breathless from her midnight flight.  
"I missed you." said Draco quietly. He took her in his arms and kissed her softly.  
"I missed you too." she kissed the nape of his neck, and they all but fell into the silent softness of the feather bed.  
  
  
  
"What the fuck did you do to my sister." Snarled Ron.  
"What?" Draco muttered, his brows knitting. "I didn't do anything."  
"The hell you didn't. Where did she go last night? She's been acting wierd since you took her to the ball."  
"It's called love, dipshit."  
"It is NOT! There is no way Ginny could love you. YOU!"  
  
"So."  
The cold voice that came from behind the door of the Charms classroom was eerily familiar to Draco.  
"No. No." He shook his head and denied it even as he accepted the inevitability  
"Yes Draco. I heard of your sordid little affair with the Weasley girl." Lucius stepped out of the shadows. "I know. And I knew you wouldn't lie to Ron if it was all a game to you. That's what you said it was, at the start. You told me it was a game, Draco. And now you say you would happily dishonour me and ruin the entire Malfoy bloodline we have worked for centuries to make because of a childish love affair!" He roared in Draco's face.  
"It is not a sordid love affair." Draco growled quietly.  
"Yes! Yes it is! You are being foolish! CHILDISH!" He screamed again, and his fist hit Draco's jaw.  
"No! Let him go!" The three men looked up suddenly. Draco saw ,through a veil of red, Ginny standing in the doorway, her wand drawn.  
"Ah. Our unsurper. Tell me Draco, have you already soiled our reputation? Have you...violated her?"  
"I will tell you nothing." Draco's quiet rebellion was enraging to Lucius.  
"You will tell me everything! You are my son! You will obey me! I am your MASTER!"  
"You are the master of none but yourself, you vile excuse for a wizard! You are not worth the title!" Ginny's voice was growing louder, louder then even Lucius in his primal rage. "You cannot order him to do anything! He is free to do what he wants without waiting for you to approve of it! LEAVE HIM ALONE!" She was screaming, screaming at him, and he hit her.  
  
The sheer force of his blow almost knocked her off her feet. Draco surged towards his father, incensed with incoherent rage.  
"I'll kill you! I'll tear you fucking throat out if you hurt her!" he was cursing and howling at his father like a madman when a hand grab the back of his robes.  
"Leave. Him. To . Me." Ginny's voice was low and cold - so cold it was almost unnatural. "Throw down your wand, Lucius. Throw down your wand and fight me like the man you aren't. Then we will see how much pure blood counts for, in the real world without your facade to hide behind."  
Lucius sneered. "Alright then. We will fight." He and Ginny threw their wands aside.  
"Your sister is crazy!" muttered Draco to Ron.  
"Not neccesarily. Bill taught her to fight. I doubt I could beat her when she's this fired up."  
  
Ginny and Lucius circled each other like wolves before a battle. Draco saw Ginny's hair flying out behind her, then looked at his father's.  
"War on the Red horse, Death on the Pale." He said suddenly."  
"What?" muttered Lucius.  
"The four horsemen of the Apocalypse. Red is for war. You're about to fight War."  
"But if I am Death, I will overcome." frowned Lucius.  
"No. It's basic folklore. Death comes from War. Death comes AFTER war. You will not triumph over your creator."  
"That is ridiculous Draco." his father growled angrily. Draco simply smirked.  
"Fight her then. You've never seen what she can do. 


End file.
